College Sports Blog

Texas Longhorns will miss Vaccaro and Okafor the most — who’s ready to step up?

Key Departure: Kenny Vaccaro, S — Texas’ first first-round pick since 2010, Vaccaro was the perfect safety for Duane Akina’s secondary, a versatile talent who could slide up to nickelback and also stop the run. In 32 career starts, Vaccaro had seven career double-digit tackle games and flashed strong ball skills, too. His five interceptions were relatively low, although he broke up 21 passes. For a defense that struggled to tackle and defend the pass, Vaccaro was a saving grace.

Likely Replacement: Josh Turner — The coaching staff is high on the athletic Mykkele Thompson, but as a sophomore he showed little indication of becoming a starting-caliber safety in the Big 12 — he couldn’t tackle worth a lick and his coverage skills were poor. A former high school quarterback, that wasn’t so surprising. Turner, however, is a natural cover guy and can fill Vaccaro’s void at nickel when the Longhorns put five defensive backs on the field. In Turner’s first career start against Baylor, he picked off a pass and made seven tackles. Physically, he can’t match Vaccaro, but Turner can do just as well in pass defense.

Key Departure: Alex Okafor, DE — His performance in the Alamo Bowl was the icing on the cake of a very strong career for Okafor, who started 33 games with 22 career sacks and 178 total tackles. In two of Texas’ close games in 2012, against Kansas and Oregon State, Okafor had a major mark on the win, with 13 tackles in a spirited defensive effort against the Jayhawks and an Alamo Bowl record with 4.5 sacks against the Beavers. Without Okafor, or somebody like him, to anchor the other side of the line, Jackson Jeffcoat will find himself in myriad double-team situations in 2013.

Likely Replacement: Cedric Reed — You’d hate to put undue pressure on a guy who’s made six starts in two seasons, but it’s expected of Reed to take a leap in what will be his junior season. Texas has cranked out some very good ends recently, and there always seem to be two of them at a time: Time Crowder and Brian Robison; Brian Orakpo and Sergio Kindle; Kindle and Sam Acho; Acho and Jackson Jeffcoat; Alex Okafor and Jeffcoat. Now it’s time for the Jeffcoat-Reed pairing to shine.

Key Departure: Marquise Goodwin, WR — Longhorns fans probably were a bit confused to see Goodwin taken in the third round by the Bills as the ninth wide receiver off the boards. After all, the guy only caught 26 balls last season. Goodwin was underutlized by the coaching staff, but did turn in his fair share of big games and plays. Perhaps that’s what the Longhorns are missing most with Goodwin — a player who can go off at any moment, stretch the field, return kicks and carry the ball on sweeps and reverses. On paper, a void of 26 receptions isn’t that hard to replace.

Likely Replacement: Kendall Sanders — The smart bet is that Mike Davis and Jaxon Shipley simply get more looks their way in the absence of Goodwin — Davis, especially, will get more deep passes. As for the return and outside running games, expect Daje Johnson to do a good amount of damage. Filling Goodwin’s place at slot receiver might be Sanders, whose strong spring was marred by a DUI arrest. The sophomore-to-be did little as a freshman, but he has the speed and agility to be productive in Texas’ quick-strike offense.

Key Departure: Alex King, P — Don’t laugh, the Longhorns will miss King’s leg. The Duke transfer averaged 45.3 yards per punt, which would have put him at ninth nationally had he had enough attempts to qualify. His average was good enough for fourth-best on UT’s all-time single season list. Eleven of King’s punts went over 50 yards and 37 percent of them landed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. Better yet, he only had one touchback and none of his punts were blocked. In simpler words, King was a major weapon in the battle for field position.

Likely Replacement: Anthony Fera. One of the major offseason storylines nobody’s talking about is the state — physically and mentally — of Anthony Fera. Nobody could really blame him for a bad 2012 after he transferred out of Penn State in the midst of an NCAA maelstrom (he also continues to deal with a major illness in the family). Fera’s groin wouldn’t get right, either, leading to two missed extra points and two missed field goals (in four tries), including a key one against West Virginia. The Longhorns took things slowly with Fera in the spring. He might not be the starting kicker, but he’d be a sufficient replacement of King if he punts like he did at Penn State (42-yard average in 2011).

Key Departure: Luke Poehlmann, OL — Texas returns 19 starters in 2013, so there’s not exactly a long list of players who will be sorely missed. Poehlmann might not be a name Longhorn fans remember five years from now, but he played the important role as utility offensive lineman, a selfless guy who never griped about starts or snaps but simply lined up wherever he was asked. In 2011, he was a blocking tight end. In 2012 he started at tight end, right tackle and left guard. With injuries mostly inevitable, the Longhorns love to have an experienced guy who can play multiple positions.

Likely Replacement: Sedrick Flowers. Highly recruited, it’s time for Flowers to start fighting for playing time. He won’t be a full-time starter until 2014, after guards Mason Walters and Trey Hopkins leave, but Flowers (6-foot-3, 313) could excel as Texas’ No. 6 offensive lineman, one who could fill in at either guard position, as an extra blocker or possibly even at center. At any rate, the redshirt sophomore provides good depth.

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